Haunting Reminders
by Preddy's.Girl.Scarlett
Summary: He slipped his hand out from under her head and grasped her free hand, holding it tightly as he felt the life drain from her being. He stayed like that for hours, he wasn't going to leave her behind. One-shot.


**I don't know if anyone's done this yet (most likely it's been done already) but… I had nothing better to do with my time and I'm dealing with a horrid case of writer's block. ;-;**

**I'm sorry I know it's horrible and totally sucks! Dx**

**I don't own Nightwing or Artemis… or Wally. ._.**

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_You're too late. _

The words echo in his mind as he rushes to find her. Corridors – dozens of corridors stand in his way. He can't find his way, she's lost… no! He has to find her, he promised she'd be safe… he has to save her!

_She's gone, you broke your promise._

Shut up! That's not true, it's not! She's okay… she has to be. His footsteps increase as he realizes that his mind is right, she could be gone… she could be dead. How'd it all go so wrong? How did _everything _fall apart in only seconds?

The plan had been going great, no one doubted that she was really one of theirs. One second he'd been fighting her, the next she was gone and he could hear her screams… he could hear her calling for him. But now her screams were gone and everything was silent, where was she?

_You didn't save her, Dick._

Why couldn't he just stop _thinking_? He was now running as fast as he could, the place was literally a maze. He didn't even know where he was! And just as quickly as he was about to give up, he stopped dead in his tracks.

In front of him there she was, laying on her back and staring up above in silence. She didn't move and his breath froze as he slowly approached her.

_No…_

"Artemis…" He whispered, the tears stinging under his mask as he dropped on his knees beside her.

She looked over at him, her eyes barely registering the fact that he was there… that he was him. There was something in them; fear. She was scared that this was the end for her. Her hand was placed over her throat and he could see the blood pooling – so much _blood_.

He gently placed his hand under her head and pressed his hand over hers, trying to keep the blood from flowing any more than it already had. "It's okay, Artemis… w-we're going to… help is on the way." He choked out, knowing that every word out of his mouth was a lie.

There was no help coming, no one knew where they were. But what else could he say?

_Tell her the truth. _

What truth? That she was going to die here with only him by her side? No, he refused to let her think that in her last moments! They weren't even going to _be _her last moments, she'd survive this. She was Artemis, dammit! She always survived, she was a survivor.

"N-n… igh…" She croaked, her own tears falling down her cheeks. He could see the color fading from her cheeks, she was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Don't talk." He whispered, his tears falling through his mask and onto her chest.

Her body shook as she took a shaky breath, her free hand moving up to her eyes and removing the horrid mask that hid her face. Next she grasped the necklace that remained around her neck, she didn't need it anymore.

Even though he couldn't see the chance, he knew she was back to being Artemis.

"T-tell… Wa… wally… tell him… I'm s-sorry." She gasped out, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Dick ripped the mask from his face, throwing it to the side. "No, you can tell him yourself. I'm not letting you go, Artemis."

She shook her head. "P-please…" He knew that look in her eyes. The girl wanted him to stop lying, she knew what was going to happen – she accepted it.

A sob escaped his lips, he couldn't believe he had let this happen! "I-I'll tell him."

She smiles up at him and he knows, _god_ does he know.

_It's all your fault._

He shoved those thoughts from his mind for the time being, he couldn't let her see that he blamed himself. Because she didn't want him to blame himself, because the way she was looking at him… the way her eyes met his – it told him everything he needed to know.

Nightwing slipped his hand out from under her head and grasped her free hand, holding it tightly as he felt the life drain from her being. He stayed like that for hours, not having the heart to let her go and find a way out. He wasn't going to leave her behind, no.

The least he could do was give her a proper funeral, a real funeral this time.

_I'm so sorry. _

That was all he could think about. Over and over it repeated in his head, his sobbing stopped eventually and he just sat there; staring at nothing. He couldn't look at her – couldn't come to terms with what he'd caused.

Yes. It _was_ his fault. He made her go through with the plan, he made her become Tigress.

And when the rest of the team finally found them, they saw their leader clutching the limp body of the poor girl they all believed to be dead.

It was a heart breaking sight and no one could speak, they said nothing as he stood up with her in his arms and walked past them. He left the place with her in his arms. She'd always remain with him, a haunting reminder.

_You failed. _

Yes, he had failed. He let one of the closest people he'd ever had die and all for some stupid plan. It wasn't fair, no it wasn't but there was nothing he could do about it anymore.

She was dead.

Nothing anyone ever told him could fix that.

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**If you loved it you should review, if you hated it you should still review… if you don't care you should also review… please? .-.**

**Reviews make me feel happy inside. ;-;**


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